


A Lucky One

by Ryu_Reikai_Akuma



Series: Domestic Bliss Verse [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Commoner, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Dinner, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Married Life, No Incest, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 01:38:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11003292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryu_Reikai_Akuma/pseuds/Ryu_Reikai_Akuma
Summary: It had been a hard day at work, but there was nothing better than a loving husband, a warm meal, and a nice song to make one feel better.





	A Lucky One

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [a lovely fanart](http://demonessryu.tumblr.com/post/159890974959) of Thorin in his blue shirt (tunic? What is that thing called?) and looking decidedly not like the king we all love and admire. It’s not a bad look on him and he could benefit from not carrying all that emotional baggage. So, here’s a domestic commoner AU because the dwarfs deserve a break from all that kingdom reclaiming quest thingy.

Thorin sighed quietly as he opened his front door. His body ached from long hours of manipulating metals to turn them into practical and beautiful goods and he was relieved to be home. Outside, the sky was darkening and the roads were filled with people returning home or going to taverns. He had actually been invited to go to a tavern by other blacksmiths in his forge, but he declined, preferring homemade meal and comfortable private space to ale and raucous crowd. His friends had teased him about it. The disease of the newlyweds, they called it. It’s so infectious that they mustn’t go outside of their warm homes—and preferably their warm beds—longer than necessary. Thorin accepted their teasing good-naturedly. After all, he couldn’t refute them. Before his wedding, he would go with the lads every other evening, but now he rejected them more often than not, their pleasant company and the temptation of good drinks paled in comparison of what was waiting for him at home.

The house seemed empty, but Thorin heard noises of clanging pans and his nose detected a faint aroma of broth in the making. Chuckling, he followed his senses to the kitchen to the still-unbelievable sight of Kili preparing their supper. Thorin could watch him forever, seeing him moving about in his small kitchen with familiarity made his heart swell with pride and affection. Never mind the mess Kili left on the table, the dead pheasants hanging from the ceiling, or soot on the wall by the stove. The fact that Kili was in his- _their_ house, happily making supper for two, was enough to rejuvenate him a little. Some of Thorin’s exhaustion disappeared, replaced by ever-growing contentment.

“You’re back!” Kili greeted him cheerfully. “Supper is almost ready!” he announced, peering into the broth with some suspicion. He never was an extraordinarily good cook (neither of them were, in fact), but he had tried to improve his skill since they married.

Thorin nodded. “I see you caught some pheasants.”

“I caught a few. I exchanged a couple of them for some wheat from Bombur’s wife, though.”

Thorin hummed in approval, noting the new addition to the kitchen in the corner. “Are you planning to make something?”

Kili grinned at him. “I thought you’d bake us some bread when you have the time.” He laughed when Thorin scowled at him. “You’ve seen my attempts at it. Unless you want more burnt wheat, I suggest you make it yourself.”

Thorin shook his head but quietly planned to come home early in a couple of days. The lads wouldn’t mind. He had worked very hard since he ended his solitary life. His new life didn’t allow him to only earn enough to support himself. As much as Kili’s hunts and their small garden helped reduce their expenses, Thorin still needed to earn more. This led to some evenings when he was too tired to provide proper company for Kili. Those times, he wished he were younger, more fit for long work hours and difficult tasks, but there was no way to plan when he would meet his one. Thorin couldn’t have chosen to find Kili before his first century. He had no power to refuse when his heart chose someone so young. He had no say in how eagerly his affection was returned despite his situation in life. He certainly wasn’t able to alter the natural course of his courtship that led to the end of one type of lifestyle and the beginning of a new one.

“I met mother at the market today,” Kili said as Thorin washed dirt and soot off his skin. “She invited us to supper tomorrow.”

“Didn’t we have supper at her house a couple of weeks ago?” Thorin asked distractedly, cleaning the black soot under his fingernails.

Kili shrugged. “Yes, but you know how she worries. She’s still not sure we know how to feed ourselves.”

“It’s been a year and we’re still alive,” Thorin grumbled.

Kili’s laughter followed Thorin out of the kitchen. After storing his earning in a box under the bed, he started a small fire in the hearth, as soon it would be dark and cold. He patiently fed the flame with logs until it was big enough to warm the house. Afterward, he lit small oil lamps to put around the sitting room and the kitchen, lighting up the place. While waiting for Kili to finish cooking, Thorin took care of the clutter Kili had left behind. There was a book on a table with a green leaf stuck between two pages to mark where Kili had last read it. Beside it were a half-finished quilt and a box of sewing kit that must have occupied Kili until he grew frustrated and turned to the kitchen for consolation. Thorin chuckled, putting the items away. The quilt on their bed was proof that Kili was capable of the task, but he lacked the patience to sit down and focus on sewing. Every time, without fail, he would spend an hour with the quilt before declaring that his body ached from lack of activity. Sometimes, when he wasn’t so tired, Thorin would pick up where Kili had left off. He didn’t mind, having done this often before Kili entered his life, although it was new for Kili. Further, the thought of working on something together with Kili filled him with such joy that he was fit to burst. Newlywed disease, indeed.

Supper was ready shortly after. They had it in the small table in the kitchen that Kili had cleared from food remnants. They ate while talking about their day. Kili’s morning was far more interesting, as usual. He had gone hunting after Thorin left. At first, he had thought of catching some rabbits, but changed his plan when he spotted the pheasants. Thorin was then treated to a thrilling tale of shooting the frightened fowls and chasing the few that had used bushes to avoid Kili’s sharp aim. There had been a few tumbles but Kili eventually emerged victorious, returning home with a handful of pheasants to keep their small family fed for the next couple of days.

Thorin’s day was far less rousing by comparison. There was only so much excitement in hammering metal and softening it by fire. His friends and customers produced quite some stories to tell, however. Thorin smiled when Kili laughed at the romantic misadventures of a soldier named Dwalin, who fell in love too easily but always scared his love interests with the most horrendous of gifts. Now, Thorin was far from an expert in romance, but he had known better than to present Kili with an axe to indicate his feelings. No. Beads had been presented first to convey his regards and received with enthusiastic approval. The axes had come much later when Thorin had gathered enough courage to challenge him to friendly spars (Thorin had won each one of them, although sometimes he wondered if it had been Kili’s ploy to make him pin him to the ground.)

After supper, they moved to the sitting room. They sat together in front of the hearth, sharing a small box of pipe weed. Exhaling the smoke, Thorin felt his tired body relax. He was warm and his stomach was comfortably full. The bed tucked away at the corner of the room beckoned to him, but he wanted to enjoy the evening still. Beside, Kili was still alert and after a year of sharing a bed, it felt wrong to go to sleep alone.

“We should bring one of the pheasants for your mother tomorrow,” Thorin suggested.

Kili nodded slowly. Thorin knew he was thinking that it meant he had to go hunting again sooner than expected, but Ered Luin was blessed with a rich forest and Thorin was blessed with a good hunter for a husband. He knew catching more food wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Even if he couldn’t find anything, they could always use their saving. They had planned to keep chickens for their eggs and expand their garden, but a little delay in the plan wouldn’t do any harm, especially if it meant putting Kili’s mother’s mind at ease.

“I want to invite her to dinner some time,” Kili said.

Thorin raised an eyebrow, smirking. “To show her your cooking prowess?”

Kili elbowed his rib. “To assure her of our survival skill.”

They exchanged grins that were broken when a log crackled in the hearth. Thorin threw another one lazily into the fire to keep it burning bright. “It will be nice to have someone over for dinner,” he said a moment later.

“I thought you’re happy that she lives across the town,” Kili joked, earning a half-hearted glare from Thorin. “But, yes, it will be nice to have people over,” Kili said with a longing sigh, thinking about the family he parted from.

Thorin shifted closer to him. “We should invite Fili and his wife as well,” he said and smiled when Kili nodded in excitement. Thorin might be used to solitude, but Kili was accustomed to affectionate banters and endless conversations through the night, two things that Thorin couldn’t quite provide for him as it wasn’t in his nature. Kili understood this, but Thorin knew he still missed such company. “The lads have been asking me to join them at the tavern. Perhaps we should go with them when we have the time.”

Kili laughed. “You just want an excuse to drink with them!” He laughed harder when Thorin didn’t deny his accusation. “I think we should. It’s been a while since I danced,” he said, grinning.

Thorin wasn’t too fond of dancing, convinced that he was rather poor at it and not inclined to make a spectacle of himself. But, the thought of dancing with Kili held some appeal to him. Thorin was naturally reserved and not at all comfortable with showing his affection in public even after he was married. But, a dance would give him an excuse to be close to Kili and hold his hands. It wasn’t much—there were those who brazenly kissed and embraced before others—but Thorin believed that most gestures of affection were to be made in private. He only tolerated dancing and holding hands, considering them loud declarations of his affection, ways to show how proud he was to be chosen by his husband, and displays of commitment he had promised on their wedding. Kili slid his hand under Thorin’s and linked their fingers together after Thorin hummed in agreement, understanding the meaning behind Thorin’s action.

They spent a long moment in silence that was neither heavy or uncomfortable, but warm and companionable. It was a moment Thorin would gladly trade noisy taverns for million times over, a moment he came home every day for. It was a moment that alleviated his exhaustion, that worth all the efforts he had made. In the beginning of their courtship when everything was still new and exciting, love was a fire burning bright and wild, an all-consuming force that enveloped him with constant want and need. But now it was the flame in a hearth, burning steady and bright, calm without losing its warmth, filling him with contentment. Thorin hummed quietly when Kili leaned toward him, far too in peace to speak a word.

“Sing for me,” Kili requested, smiling.

Thorin looked at his husband fondly and obeyed. The deep voice that first gained him Kili’s attention filled the room, drowning the crackling of burning wood and the whispering of winds on summer leaves. Thorin sang of a life in a land so rich no one was left wanting, where peace presided and happiness engulfed all. He sang about warm sun all year round, forest and fields teeming with life, mines filled with precious stones and metals, gentle moonlight, and winking stars. He sang of smiles of people’s faces and great fortunes in their lives. He sang about longing for the dream-like land and determination to have the impossibly ideal world realized.

When Kili gently rested his head on Thorin’s shoulder, warmth spread across Thorin’s body and rested deep in his soul. He smiled while he continued to sing, this time of family life and how it lent strength to a dwarf to work and fight—anything to see smiles on the faces of those he loved. The song had meant nothing to him in the past, but now he understood. Thorin might not live in a perfect land, his life might not be free of hardship, and he was often in want, but, sitting here with Kili by his side in the home that was once his but now theirs, he knew was a lucky one.

**Author's Note:**

> This is so… domestic. In fact, I tentatively titled it “Extreme Domesticity.” I’m both sick and amused of myself for coming up with this. But, maybe another one(s?) is coming? I have to say I like the idea of those two not carrying the burden of a kingdom.
> 
> Anyway, stop me from ranting and tell me to ignore my self-doubts on [my tumblr](http://demonessryu.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
